Western Railroad Discussion > Zebra Stripes in the Fading Fall Colors and First Snows of the UP

Last Thursday I took advantage of a rare break in classes at Michigan Tech to go catch CN L539, otherwise known as the L'Anse local, do their switching in L'Anse, MI along the former DSS&A. Leading the train was a SD40-2W with CN Zebra Stripe paint. Even with many of the fall colors gone, I was able to catch some very nice images of it. It was also equipped with a Nathan P5 that echoed through the hills of the porcupine mountains quite nicely.

1) Leaving the Koppers yard with a cut of empties (various hoppers and gondolas used for old ties from the CN system that the yard cuts up and burns for power), the train crosses US-41 in L'Anse.
2) In Herman (aka mostly abandoned mining town in the middle of nowhere with a population of like 2 1/2), the colors are almost all the way gone, but the stripes are still stunning nonetheless.
3) With the Keweenaw Bay of Lake Superior in the background, the crew starts their long 10mph ascent of the infamous L'Anse Hill (up to 3% in many places, here it's about 2.6%). The colors have stuck around a bit longer in L'Anse, but they won't be like that for long.

One more to come.

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4) CN 5408, led the train into L'Anse in the morning. I was too late to the party to catch them descending the hill, but after dropping the loads off on a siding, they backed down into the yard as light power to grab the empties. Normally they just back the loads in rather than leaving them on the siding, however this day they were too long to do so. CN's Ex Oakway SD60s are in abundance in the UP, and this train has been no exception. 
5) A nice side portrait of 5341 as they pull the loads out past the switch so they can back into the yard. 
Video) With one of the first measurable snowfalls of the year coming in fast (normal in the UP for mid-October), the train glides towards their destination in Ishpeming having just reached the top of the hill at an extremely rural crossing. 

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#3 is a beauty. Our Fall colors here in Dunsmuir are just now beginning.

Robert Morris
Dunsmuir, CA
Robert Morris Photography

Good to see still running.  Was just reading an old SOO magazine, one of few magazines I have saved about L'Anse depots and the run-a-ways. 

Bob jordan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/20 20:38 by robj.

So what about Baraga, any service at all? Great shots, I remember L'Ainse in the 80's, wooden depot, wooden work train cars,
looked like service every third week, nice to see it still running.

Out 

callum_out Wrote:
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> So what about Baraga, any service at all? Great
> shots, I remember L'Ainse in the 80's, wooden
> depot, wooden work train cars,
> looked like service every third week, nice to see
> it still running.
>
> Out 

The tracks to Baraga are still there but have been OOS for a while (STB won't let CN rip them up). There is still a small industrial yard at the very end of the tracks in Baraga that in theory could receive rail service, but it hasn't for years. Currently trains come up to L'Anse about twice per week to serve the Koppers yard and CertainTeed, a ceiling panel manufacturer. Despite being so remote and infrequently used, the line is not on the list of ones in the UP and northern Wisconsin that CN is looking to sell off, so the tie reclamation business must be very important to them.

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photobob Wrote:
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> #3 is a beauty. Our Fall colors here in Dunsmuir
> are just now beginning.

Yes, number three is a great shot.  Did you do a vertical version???

Robert

koloradokid Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> photobob Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > #3 is a beauty. Our Fall colors here in
> Dunsmuir
> > are just now beginning.
>
> Yes, number three is a great shot.  Did you do a
> vertical version???
>
> Robert

Believe it or not, #3 was taken with my video camera as it was recording (not bad for a camcorder eh?), so a vertical shot was not possible. I prefer videos over photography, but since my phone camera is pretty good and my camcorder doesn't do that bad either, I've found myself taking more and more still photos. Maybe one of these days I'll invest in a proper DSLR, but while I'm still on a college student budget, the phone and camcorder will have to do.

The video of them coming up the hill when this photo was taken is equally excellent (the trip yielded several cool videos). It shows the engines notched up a bit, the heat from the exhaust blurring the background, and the air from the traction motors blowing the leaves around on the track. I'll upload it at some point in the future probably.

Posted from Android